Java 1.4.2_02 keystore password?

Question

I am trying to import a self-signed cert using the keytool. I am running j2re1.4.2_02 om windows 2000.
When prompted with the password I enter "changeit" like I have been doing with previous Java release. It seems as though the keystore default password has changed. Because I keep getting the error
"keytool error: java.io.IOException: Keystore was tampered with, or password was
incorrect."
It looks like Java is now using the deployment.jsscerts file below
"C:\Documents and Settings\dean\Application Data\Sun\Java\Deployment\security\deployment.jssecerts"
I had previously imported the cert into the cacerts file
C:\Program Files\Java\j2re1.4.2_02\lib\security\cacerts
However I see via the Java Plugin control panel that the jsscerts file is now being used.
Can anyone tell me what the default password is to the deployment.jsscets keystore ?
Thanks

Answer 1

The password for deployment.jssecerts keystore is NULL, when you are loading the keystore and EMPTY, when storing the keystore. Since EMPTY password can not be passed to keytool, it can not be used for adding a certificate to the store. We've to write java code for this. Something like this:
* Installs a certificate into Java Plugin keystore.
* @author Tarkeshwar Thakur ([email protected])
* Usage: java CertInstall <certificate-file-path>
public class CertInstall
     private static void addCertToKeyStore(File certFile, File keystoreFile)
          throws IOException, CertificateException, NoSuchAlgorithmException,
                    KeyStoreException
          // load certificate
          InputStream certStream = new FileInputStream(certFile);
          CertificateFactory cf = CertificateFactory.getInstance("X.509");
          X509Certificate cert = (X509Certificate)cf.generateCertificate(certStream);
          certStream.close();
          // load keystore
          InputStream ksStream = new FileInputStream(keystoreFile);          
          KeyStore keystore = KeyStore.getInstance("JKS");
          keystore.load(ksStream, null); // second argument is password
          ksStream.close();
          // add certificate to keystore
          keystore.setCertificateEntry("", cert); // first argument is alias
          // save keystore
          OutputStream out = new FileOutputStream(keystoreFile);
          keystore.store(out, new String("").toCharArray()); // second argument is password
          out.close();
     public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception
          if (args.length < 1)
               System.out.println("Usage: java CertInstall <certificate-file-path>");
               return;
          File certFile = new File(args[0]);
          File keystoreFile = new File(System.getProperty("user.home") + "/Application Data/Sun/Java/Deployment/security/deployment.jssecerts");
          addCertToKeyStore(certFile, keystoreFile);
          System.out.println("Successfully installed certificate into Java Plugin!");